China Sentences 3 Australians to Prison

[Randy W]

in the NY Times - shocked, shocked, SHOCKED, I tell you. No more junkets.

 

China Sentences 3 Australians to Prison for Promoting Gambling

 

 

A Chinese court on Monday sentenced three Australian employees of Crown Resorts to less than a year in prison each for illegally promoting gambling in China.

Including the time they have already spent in prison, all three should be released in months.

. . .

Thirteen other employees, one Malaysian and 12 Chinese, received similar sentences, the company said. Three more were convicted but not fined or sentenced to prison.

The case has spooked foreign gambling operators, which have tried to lure Chinese customers to their properties by enticing them with rides on private jets, good Chinese food and swift visa approvals.

. . .

Gambling is illegal in the mainland, but Chinese gamblers have built Macau, a special administrative region under Beijing’s rule but governed by separate laws, into the world’s largest gambling market. Although the industry has been hurt by President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption and his campaign against ostentatious displays of wealth, it has rebounded in recent months as new resorts have opened.